I start today to my frist long trip to the nordic sea. about 400mi per trip. The first way is done and after this trip i think about change a lot of things. The important thing is swap the tranny. The noises are too loud. OK, i hoipe anyone could give me information about a tranny what fits on my 235 from 1954. I know i have to do a lot of work on my drive train but i will it do. In combination with the new tranny i will swap to an open driveshaft. I have a good mechanic and he said it's not a problen to build an own open driveshaft with my original rear end. Please give me all informationen or specifikation about trannys. Or have anyone a tranny in stock??? Volker
A 3, 4 or 5 speed Trans. from 1955 all the way up in to the 90's will fit your 235 with no problem. they are all the same bolt pattern. Just count the splines on the input shaft and make sure you have the clutch disk to match....Big Tim
Big Tim. Can you use the original Differential with a newer tranny? Or do you need to change the 3rd member also? I've considered changing out mine before finishing my rebuild.
You need to have a open drive line type rear end, then it's just a matter of making up a driveline to fit.
Big Tim, You have the answers to questions I've been asking for some time. My 53' has a 55-57 235 with original 4 speed rock crusher tranny. Is there a sweet newer overdrive automatic tranny you would recommend or even a 5 speed manual that would just bolt up easily? I really want to get rid of my old tranny. I see a lot of folks use a Lokar long floor stick shifter kit. Thanks, Flashlight
I have the original closed driveshaft but After i talked with my mechanic i Found a Solution to change the Read end in a Open driveshaft. I Cut the old driveshaft and take an New U-Joint Weld it together and finish. I know it is the short Description, i Need à Lot of New bushings. With a Steel band will fix the rearend and then i can Build à own driveshaft. Sounds logical and therefore i Need only à tranny which fit on my Engine
I think Clifford Performance offers a adapter plate you can bolt on to the back of your 235 that will allow you to bolt on a late model automatic. The only problem is you have to have the horse power to run an automatic, you would probably be better off with a manual trans. I'm not a big fan of the Lokar shifters, They work good I just don't like the appearance of them. There's still a lot of 80's cars around with 4,6 or 8 cylinder engines and 5 Spds. that would work behind a 235, the only thing a guy would have to do is modify the shifter to get around the seat. A nice clean set up that I like is the Saginaw 3 Spd. on the tree with a Camaro rear end. you will have all the power you need and good crusing speeds too. I use a Borg Warner super T 10 4 Spd. in mine and run 456 gears in the back. It will do a 100 mph pretty quick but I can only cruse at about 60 with out reving the engine too much. I hope this answers some of your questions.....Big Tim
If the rear end in your truck is the same as the 47-54 you can drop the carrier out and replace it with a 55-61 carrier but you will have to cut the hinged spring perches off and replace them with solid mount spring saddles. then re drill the pin holes to center up the wheels in the wheel well. Trying to lock up those hinged mounts won't work the constant torque will break them loose....Big Tim
Check out the s 10 5 speed. It is a very popular swap. Check out the HAMB threads for info on the subject.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=5 Just do a search, it is well discussed over there.
I checked the HAMB site, yes a lot of guys were doing the T5 swap, but it seemed mostly in 50's cars. I can find one pretty easy and reasonable. My buddies think the shifter will come out too far in the rear of the tranny and then be under my bench seat. I'm thinking the car guys all have bucket seats. Any thoughts on this, especially Russ if you have seen this done?
Remember this guy? I hope you can open and look through the wealth of information that Dave has in this site. LOTS and LOTS of pictures/descriptions about his entire build, including the T5 swap that he did. Hope the link works, because I know it will help! http://community.webshots.com/user/Fla54Chevy3100 BTW, click on the link that says "My Public Shoebox" (178 photos) That's the link you want. The transmission discussion begins around page 5, I think...
Zig, That was amazing, thanks for the link. I can do that, those trannies are easy to find, no messing around changing the rear end. All I have to do is look through my toy box and find a shifter that will become a donor. Why mess with the Saginaw trannie and changing the rearend gears, when you can have it all with less trouble. Your such a great guy, I don't know how you got mixed in with that wrong crowd (Jimmies). Flashlight
This is a kit a buddy of mine bought to bring the shifter closer to him in his Mustang 351/5 speed. The same idea could possibly work on a GM 4 or 5 speed in one of our trucks....Big Tim
Thanks Tim, There are quite a few articles on the T5 swap on the internet. Some even on our AD's. Russ is right the S-10 has a mid-mounted shifter and comes out not too far away from the standard opening. The Mustang shifter has a two hole shift lever mount, so any custom made or modified shift lever would just bolt up. Now lets see if I can find one for the $50-100 they say. Flashlight
It's been my history... I always seem to fall in with the tough crowd. I'm glad you liked the link. I bookmarked it because it is full of good advice and great pictures like what Russ is doing for us!
